Race Against Time
by Lawral
Summary: The ladies are missing and now the boys have only 72 hours to find them.
1. Chapter 1

Race Against Time  
>Rating: FR15<br>Pairing: Slight Gabby; Established McGiva  
>Summary: The ladies are missing and now the boys have only 72 hours to find them.<br>Note: Written for calalily06, NFA Secret Santa 2011  
>Additional Note: Jen, you gave me little to go on but I hope you enjoy what came to mind. MERRY CHRISTMAS, SWEETIE!<p>

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><p>Rina Davies, Christie Washington and Bethany Hightower had many things in common. All three rose through the ranks rapidly, all three were Marines and now all three were dead. It hadn't taken long for Gibbs and the team to find the connection that linked the three girls. Even the most poorly trained Metro cop could have seen it. At least, they should have; though it didn't matter, the girls were NCIS jurisdiction. Metro had no problem handing the cases over and wandering back to the public criminals.<p>

McGee and Tony stood with their arms crossed as they watched the interview taking place in the adjacent room. Ziva sat with a tear-stained woman in her early 50's. The table was clear except for a bottled water and photos of the three post-mortem photos of the victims.

"Mrs. Hightower, you are quite certain that your daughter did not know these other two ladies?" Ziva asked for a second time.

"She never mentioned her work. Beth didn't like to talk about her job when she came home; she just wanted to spend time with us."

"Had your daughter mentioned any threats made to her recently?" Ziva piled the photos up and replaced them inside the folder under her hands.

"No. I never met a soul who didn't like Beth." The woman whimpered. "She was voted Most Popular in High School; everyone loved her."

"What about a boyfriend?"

"Her job was her life. She wanted to see the world before she settled down. That's why she joined the Marines." She sniffed lightly, a small smile embracing her lips. "Her father called her a traitor; he was Air Force."

"Sounds like serving your country runs in the family." Ziva smiled.

"Yes, well Charlie- He got into some trouble in his youth."

"Juvenile record of Grand Theft Auto and Possession." Ziva read from the folder in front of her.

"Charlie is a good boy. It was just peer pressure. My husband was always so strict-"

"Where was your son last night, Mrs. Hightower?" Ziva was looking down and didn't see the look of utter shock etched on the elderly woman's face.

"You can't possibly think that Charlie would kill his sister."

"I am merely trying to take in account the locations of those who were closest to your daughter. You said she has no boyfriend-"

"What is it with you people? Beth had no boyfriend so you look to her family next?"

"It is standard procedure, Mrs. Hightower."

The woman got to her feet and slung her purse over her forearm. "Charlie adored his sister, looked up to her even. I told you that I don't know of anyone who would hurt Bethany. You have my number. Let me know when you find the animal that hurt my baby."

It was then that the woman looked at Ziva with distaste and left the room. Ziva got to her feet, collected the folder and followed the woman out of the door. Outside, she threw the half-empty water bottle in the can of a passing janitor. Tony and McGee met her as they exited Observation.

"That went well." Tony said.

"She is a passionate woman."

"Guys, she lost her only daughter and we're no closer to solving this case than the other two."

The trio walked back toward the squad room, each trying to think of just one connection that linked their three dead Marines. Two weeks, three victims and no connections was leaving a bad taste in their mouths. It didn't help that Gibbs and Vance were growing more and more irritated with the lack of advancement in the case.

"Back to the basics," Tony said as the three made for their respective desks. "McGee, Davies."

McGee pulled up the notes he'd made on their first victim. "Rina Davies, 30. Never married but does have a twelve-year-old daughter. She was assigned to a Recruiting Office in Georgetown. Her roommate denies any romantic relationship and that Davies was looking forward to a two week leave to go home and see her daughter. She would have flown out last night."

"Bethany Hightower," Ziva reported. "27, single. Mother reports nothing out of the ordinary; called her parents every night until Tuesday. Her roommate reported her missing to their CO Wednesday morning after she failed to show up to their apartment and to work. She was a marksmanship instructor. No documentation of misconduct or complaints of harassment."

"And last but not least, Christie Washington, also 27." Tony began as he read his own notes. "Youngest child with five older brothers. Fiancé, Nathan Sharpe, deployed- strong alibi there. Highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat fighting, she was an instructor."

"What do these three ladies have in common, then?" Gibbs asked as he joined the crew.

Tony's mind immediately answered with the two obvious choices: they're women and dead. Thankfully his filter kicked in just in time to keep the words from exiting his mouth. Instead, "We haven't figured that out yet, Boss."

"Well, DiNozzo, they are all in fields of advancement. Why don't you start looking for common complaints." Gibbs said looking to his team with a look of pure innocence.

The three paused for a moment and at once all began to rattle off answers of acknowledgement as they began to type away at their computers. Gibbs sat with a smile on his face; even after all these years he could still elicit frantic searches for information they should have already looked into.

By five o'clock the three members of the MCRT had compiled a lists of various sizes of potential persons-of-interest. Without any immediate leads, Gibbs excused them for the day and left the room with another folder tucked under his arm. There wasn't any physical connections between the three girls and no similarities; it made profiling rather difficult.

"Good night," Ziva said and left the bullpen in a hurry.

"Hot date, Zeeva?" Tony drawled.

"No, I simply want to leave before Gibbs changes his mind."

Tony instantly started to collect his things as well. Before he could get far, his desk phone rang. It looked as if Sinatra had died all over again by the expression on the Senior Field Agent's face. He picked it up to hear the voice of one of his buddies.

"Oh, hey man." Tony said. "No, actually I was just- Yeah, I know the place." He paused again as McGee's cell rang. "OK, I'll meet you there in twenty."

The smile on McGee's face halted Tony's procession out of the building some more. His team mate was speaking low into the mouth piece and had his back turned to Tony while he packed away his things for the night.

"I thought you didn't like that place?" Tony's attention peaked at the tone of McGee's conversation.

"Ok, if you want to try it again. No, I'm on my way out now. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Who are you picking up, Probie?"

McGee waved off his nosy friend as he continued his conversation. "Alright, I should be there soon. Yes, you can get a steak. Ok, I love you too, Squeaker."

McGee turned, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, with a smile on his face which grew at the shocked expression on Tony's face. His own plans faded from his mind as he tried to grasp the reality that McGee was seeing someone- and that he hadn't known about it.

"What?" McGee said, the smile still on his face.

"Love?" It was all Tony could say as the information still filtered through his brain. "Did you say love?"

McGee's smile remained firmly planted on his face. Love meant that he'd been seeing this person for some time and that it was serious. He'd seen some of the women that his younger friend had dated and, while none had been on the unattractive side, he couldn't think of a time that McGee had actually admitted being in love with them; not even Abby.

"Yes, Tony, love. As in, a complex emotion with good and, sometimes, bad experiences but all-in-all an enjoyable emotion." McGee said.

"I know what it means," Tony cried. "I just didn't know that you were seeing anyone. Or that it was in the 'love' range."

McGee shrugged his shoulders and made his way past Tony, who joined his stride, and toward the elevator. Tony knew that he, as well as Ziva, didn't really talk about their private life at work. Bits and pieces here or there but never anything informative unless necessary, like his little sister's existence.

"Well Tony, what can I say? Life is good." McGee smiled again as the two men entered the elevator.

The doors opened as they reached the parking garage level. McGee and Tony were instantly hit with a feeling that something was off. In front of them, and about twenty yards from the elevator's door, Abby's vehicle still sat in its space. The two boys looked at each other in confusion. Abby had said her goodbye's to the team in passing almost ten minutes ago. Tony and McGee walked toward it together and called out Abby's name to no avail.

"Wait," McGee said as he turned toward the left. "Ziva left didn't she?"

Tony turned to look in the direction that McGee was already walking. He noticed something sitting on the hood of Ziva's car. The two men got to the parking space and picked up what had claimed their attention: Ziva's gun and the NCIS issued identifications of Ziva and Abby.

"Something isn't right," McGee said again as he turned Ziva's badge over in his hands.

Tony meanwhile had pulled out his phone and dialed Ziva's cell number. His alarm peaked slightly when it immediately went to voicemail. He breathed a sigh of relief when Abby's cell phone rang. Four rings later, the line picked up.

"Abby?" Tony asked. "Abby, are you there?"

"I'm sorry," A deep, masculine voice sounded. "Abby and Agent David can't come to the phone."

The phone went dead in Tony's hands. He quickly dialed the number again but Abby's voicemail picked up. Tony hung up the phone and turned to his younger partner.

"We need to find Gibbs. Now."


	2. Chapter 2

It was dark and cold. She couldn't remember where she was and she couldn't move. Somewhere off to her left she heard the furnace kick on and she silently hoped that it would warm up some. Searching her memory, she tried to remember what had happened. It was quitting time and she'd collected her belongings quickly and left her workspace. She remembered the phone call that she'd made to Tim the moment she got on the elevator and their plans to unite for dinner.

She felt her hands jerk and a startled moan sounded from behind her. They must have been tied together. The wood below her bottom was not at all comfortable and the cords that bound her hands to her companions was digging into her wrist.

"Abby, are you alright?"

"Ziva? Where are we?"

Ziva relaxed a little as she heard the voice of her friend. There was little hope of assessing their situation in the dark space they seemed to be trapped in. Trying to move her feet, she found that they too were tied down to the legs of the chairs in which they sat.

"I do not know."

"Can you get us out of here?"

"No, Abby. He took my weapons, remember?"

Her weapons. She remembered now. She had been in the elevator on the way to the parking garage when Abby had joined her. Being with another person while on the phone, she had to censor herself and make sure she didn't say his name. No one knew about their relationship, at least no one spoke about knowing of their relationship.

"I love you," She had said and smiled when he called her Squeaker.

Abby had only smiled at hearing Ziva's words. Things had changed so much over the year; she was a citizen and had lowered her guard to really notice the man she spent so much time with. They had started off slowly, meeting up for dinners or drinks, until they finally kissed on her porch a few months prior after one of their dinner dates.

The two women hadn't expected a man to walk out of the shadows of the parking garage. He had approached them quickly and before she knew it, she was sitting next to Abby in the backseat of his car. He drove out of the Navy Yard with a wave to the guard and took them to a park close by. It was there that he attacked them with Chloroform rags.

Now they sat, tied back to back in uncomfortable chairs with nothing but darkness as their companion. It was Somalia all over again and Ziva could feel the whispers of panic reaching into her consciousness. She had been ready to die then but now she had so much to live for. Strong, she had to be strong; if nothing else, for Abby.

The three men stood around McGee's computer as he pulled up the video image of the parking garage. With no sound, they could only watch Abby and Ziva exit the elevator and start toward their cars. They had almost made it to Abby's vehicle when someone walked into the frame. The two girls turned to this person and appeared to be talking.

"No signs of distress." McGee observed.

The girls looked off to the side of the screen and started walking with the person close behind. McGee froze the image and tried to zoom in to see if they got a shot of the stranger's face. He grumbled as it seemed the person knew there was a camera pointed at them. Never once did they look up and a hooded sweater blocked any profile views.

"Looks like they willingly go with this person." Tony said as a car drove by a few moments later.

"My guess would be that Abby and Ziva got into the car with this person and then, on the way out, stopped and dropped off their ID's on top of Ziva's car." McGee stated.

"Why?"

"To prove he has them, DiNozzo." Gibbs said. "Call the gate, I want a list of all visitors. McGee, call Owens and meet her team down in the garage. Start processing that scene."

The two men started to work, their plans for the night forgotten. They had a job to do and their two female co-workers were more important. Tony put in his call and then got to his feet; he wanted to get more video feed of the main gate. McGee called Special Agent Owens and alerted her, telling her to meet him downstairs with her team. He wasn't exactly sure what they would find, if anything.

"Tell me about your sister."

Ziva looked up and turned her head to the side, attempting to see her friend in the dark. They had both given up on trying to keep track of how long they'd been tied together. Of course, waking up after already being put in the room, their guess couldn't even be accurate.

"Tali?" Ziva hadn't talked about her sister in a long time. She hadn't even known that Abby knew about her younger sibling. "She was great. I like to imagine that she would have been part of the peace project had she not been killed. Tali was a lot like my mother."

"You never talk about them." Abby said, thinking of her own family.

"My mother still worries. I am her last child and she does not approve of my job. Though she is slightly relieved that I am here and not in Israel now."

Abby was silent for a few moments before her voice filled the room again. "My parents died just as I started at NCIS. Now it's just me and my brother. He lives in my parents house with his family. I think that maybe I should go visit them after this is over."

"What makes you think you're getting out of her, Miss Scuito?"

Ziva looked up. Before her a man stood in the doorway of what looked like a kitchen. With the little light that filtered down, she could see that they were in a basement. The man walked forward and closed the door, leaving them to darkness again.

"You know," The man's voice sounded as he walked down the steps. "Christie thought she was going to get out of here too. Begged me to let her go, swore she wouldn't look at me."

Ziva looked into the darkness and was suddenly blinded as a flashlight illuminated in her face. The man chuckled at the discomfort he'd caused his captive. He finished walking down the stairs and started circling the girls, keeping the light trained on them so as to not make his identity known.

"Are you going to beg as well?"

"You have kidnapped a federal agent-"

"I know exactly who I have, Agent David."

Abby instantly corrected the pronunciation in a small voice that made the man laugh again.

"See I've been watching you at each of the crime scenes. You don't know how easy it is to blend in with the looky-loos."

He continued to circle the girls as he spoke and then stopped in front of Ziva.

"You are proof that they can't stop me. I took one of their own. They didn't think it possible for me to stay under the radar. Rina said I had potential but then again, that's her job: to plant ideas in your head. Christie said I had real talent; and Beth, I took her down on our first round. Only one in my class to do so."

Walking around again, he blinded Abby with the light.

"You were a happy surprise. A victim of wrong time, wrong place. Although, on the up side of things, they will have much more trouble identifying me without their forensic specialist." The girls could hear the boastful smile in his words.

"You killed those girls?" Ziva asked.

"I had to, Agent David. Their word was what I needed to get into the Black Ops Specialty Team but, even after all the encouragement and high marks, they denied recommending me for the team. While I was good, I wasn't what the BOST where looking for. They needed people who could move in the dark of night without chances of being seen." Ziva nearly jumped when his voice whispered into her ear. "I am proving them wrong."

"Who are you?" Abby questioned.

"You think I'm going to make it that easy for you?" He laughed. "This is a game of strategy. I gave you plenty of time to find me after I took each girl and look at you, you still don't know who I am. Better hope your men are smarter than they look; you've only got 48 hours."

The light went out and the girls clasped hands awkwardly as they heard his feet hitting the steps. He taunted them with the rhythm of a clock ticking as he left. Ziva was again blinded slightly as he opened the door and left them in their dark silence once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Sunday. It was already Sunday and the girls were still missing. A few connections had been made, one of which made the nerves stand on end. Ducky had come racing into the bullpen the afternoon before with Palmer trailing behind.

"72 hours, Jethro." Ducky said as the three gentleman looked up. "I have come to the conclusion that each of the girls were held captive, most likely somewhere dark by the decreased levels of vitamin D, and then dying from a single bullet to the head after 72 hours."

Ducky looked at Gibbs as if the whole story should make sense. Palmer glanced at the two agents as he too tried to keep some of the panic from reaching up and claiming his control.

"Don't you see?" Ducky said. "He's giving you a chance to find them. All of them; which means that he is somewhere close by."

"McGee, what time were the girls seen in the video feed?"

McGee climbed to his feet and joined Ducky at the front of Gibbs' desk. "A little after five on Friday."

"Which means we have until tomorrow." Tony said.

"Abby had a test running Friday afternoon," Palmer said suddenly. "It was some chemical compound that resembled wallpaper paste."

McGee returned to his desk at the new information and started typing away while the others continued their conversation of the missing girls.

"Is that important, Palmer?" Gibbs asked.

"Uh, well- Doctor Mallard had me clean the body of Lt. Washington; she had the same compound under her nails. Maybe she tried to fight off her attacker?"

"Boss," McGee said, causing Palmer to relax from under Gibbs' glare. "I cross referenced our three victims and came up with three names. Overn is deployed, Boots has been stationed on the East Coast for the last six months and the third, Jason Wheeler, was dishonorably discharged in May of this year. He now resides," McGee punched in some the man's name. "In Georgetown; currently employed for a renovation company."

"Grab your gear."

"Ziva?"

Her head lifted feebly at the sound of her name. Two days without food or drink, she'd been through that before, but attempting to take turns resting hadn't proven very encouraging. Though even if she'd had to protect Abby, being tied up she doubted she would have been able to. The girls were physically drained and Ziva had found herself muttering in Hebrew a prayer that they would be found soon. She was tired, hungry and was ready to give up- if only she could just kiss Tim one last time.

"Hm?"

"Who were you talking to on the phone the other day?"

His face came to her mind and she felt her throat tighten. It had taken her so long to realize he was truly there for her and just imagining his reaction to finding her and Abby, dead in the same alley they'd found the other three, it made her heart sink.

"Tim." Ziva choked out.

"Timmy?"

"Yes." She felt a tear roll down her face.

Abby was silent for a moment and Ziva felt Abby's pinky circle around her own pinkie. "How long?"

"Uh, he was actually taking me out to dinner for a celebration of six months."

"You mean, an anniversary." Abby smiled. "Tim always was a romantic."

Ziva chuckled. "He calls me Squeaker. Somehow we got into a tickle-war one night; he said I squeaked like one of Jethro's chew toys."

The girls sat in silence again. Ziva could feel the familiar tugs of exhaustion but couldn't allow herself to sleep. Upstairs, she could hear their captor walking around and shouting into a telephone. Neither even attempted to make a sound. Ziva had told Abby more about the unspoken rules of being a prisoner; rule one, if you even tried to make a sound you should consider yourself dead.

"I'm glad that he found someone that could give him what I couldn't." Abby said. "I'm glad that you could find someone to show you there is more than death in our futures."

"What is it that you couldn't give to McGee?" Ziva asked.

"My heart." Abby finally admitted. It had been in her for years and finally she allowed herself to speak. "Tim is a great guy but I have been waiting for someone else for years."

"Who?"

"Gibbs."

"Does that sound crazy? I don't know, maybe I just miss my dad. Not that Gibbs reminds me of my dad because my dad was deaf but they do kind of have that aged wisdom-"

"I do not think it sounds crazy. What is the saying? You can't help who you fall in love with? Perhaps older and wiser are your type. Much safer than obsessive and being a stalker."

"Well, well. Miss Scientist has a daddy complex?"

The door stood open above Ziva once more. This time, however, she could make out hazy features of his face. Again he walked forward and shut them in darkness. The light flashed on but this time, the stranger bent and put it on one of the steps before joining the girls.

"You know, I've never destroyed a relationship before."

"Not true." Ziva spoke. "One of those girls was engaged and they all had families."

"Yeah, well easy come, easy go."

Abby was repulsed by the sing-song tone in his voice. He stood next to them and she looked up at him, etching his features into her memory. She couldn't wait to see him on Ducky's autopsy table. In his hand she saw a flash of silver and instantly recognized the gun. At least she wouldn't need to run anymore ballistics, if this was the gun he'd used on all the murders.

_Crap,_ Abby silently swore. _I'll have to test to make sure it is the same weapon._

"Your time is almost up ladies." He taunted again. "I figured with two women of a federal agency they'd put a little more of a priority on finding you but it appears your men don't feel the same."

He jabbed the revolver into Ziva's shoulder just at the base of her neck. "How do you think your little boyfriend will react when he finds you? I can't wait to see his face."

"Tim would not give you the satisfaction." Ziva drawled. "I am Israeli; death does not frighten me."

"No?" The man asked before jabbing the gun into Abby's shoulder. Ziva heard her gasp. "How about now?"

Gibbs pulled up to the address and climbed out of the car. Tony and McGee glanced at one another before releasing a breath they'd both been holding during the reckless drive. As the three made their way up to the doorway, their weapons drawn in front of them, none made a sound. Gibbs knocked on the door loudly.

"NCIS, open the door!"

A few moments past before Gibbs nodded at Tony. He stood back, reared his foot up and pounded the door open. Entering the dwelling, Gibbs cleared the living room while McGee checked an adjacent bedroom. It was as he came walking out of the bedroom that the first shots rang out. Tony dove behind the couch while Gibbs took cover by the door way leading through the small hall that lead to the kitchen.

"Lucky timing, Agent Gibbs." Jason called out. "Just in time to take your lovely ladies to the morgue. I assume you know how to get there."

"Yeah," Gibbs answered. "I think we'll even make some room for you. No charge."

Jason laughed at the thought. "Five dead girls; three men will soon follow. You forget Agent Gibbs, I was highest in my class for Marksmanship."

"Maybe I did, I have been doing this a long time." Gibbs said.

Downstairs the girls could hear nothing but gunshots. Abby looked to the ceiling hoping that their captor would be turned into the deceased and not the other way around. Suddenly the shots stopped. The girls couldn't hear anything to tell who had won the fire fight. Steps sounded against the floor in the same direction that normally brought the stranger to them. Abby clutched Ziva's hand as best she could again.

"Ziva?" Abby said, sounding slightly scared and worried. "I love you. Not like love you, love you but like I love-"

"I know what you mean, Abby." Ziva said calmly. "I love you too."

The door opened above them and the man stared down at them. Ziva felt her heart sink; it looked as if her captor really had claimed the lives of her friends and was now coming to take her and Abby too. She looked down as he stood there, his shoulders heaving with each excited breath.

"McGee!"

The girls looked up as the man in the door turned to his left and shouted. "They're down here, Boss."

"Tim?" Ziva said quietly as she saw the two men descend the staircase. Tony brought up the rear, flipping on a light which instantly blinded the two girls before it popped and bathed them in darkness again.

"Ziva." Tim's voice sounded as a flashlight clicked on and she felt the metal of a blade carefully cutting the ropes that bound her and Abby to the chairs. "You're ok. It's all over."

She then realized that tears were freely rolling down her face as she fought against the ropes until Gibbs finally freed them. Ziva was on her feet in a moment and launched herself into McGee's arms. Abby smiled softly as she saw her two friends kissing as if there was only a few moments left in their lives.

"Tim, you're bleeding." Abby said holding onto Gibbs as she got to her own feet.

Ziva looked down at the bloodstain on the sleeve of McGee's shirt. She touched it lightly and looked up to him again. "It's just a graze. I'm fine, Squeaker."

"Wait," Tony said from behind them. "Ziva? You're Squeaker?"

Abby and Ziva laughed before McGee kissed his girlfriend once more. Gibbs took Abby's weight and started to lead her toward the steps. He didn't say a word to the pair as they embraced; he was thankful that they'd found the girls and that they were alive.

"Where is he?" Abby asked as Gibbs lead her up the stairs and past Tony.

"Dead. Don't worry, Abs. I've got you." He said softly and kissed her temple.

Behind them, McGee circled his arm around Ziva's waist and began to follow his boss; he could hear the sirens of police and ambulances arriving at the residence and he wanted to make sure Ziva and Abby were definitely fine.

"You owe me a steak," Ziva said against his shoulder as her exhaustion returned with full force.

"Anything for you," McGee whispered. "But first, you have a date with an EMT."

The End


End file.
